Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Yeppoon

On Monday we went to Mt. Morgan for the day which was a really interesting insight of what happens when mining finishes. Mt. Morgan 130 years ago boasted as being the richest gold mine in the world creating one of the biggest bustling towns outside of Brisbane in Queensland, producing 225 tonnes of gold, 50 tonnes of silver and 360,000 tonnes of copper.We had a fascinating guided tour which took us over the township of Mt. Morgan and then up to the open cut mine where we saw the process being undertaken by the Queensland government to reinstate what is left. It really is like a ghost town and quite eerie.There are also a number of historical buildings remaining including a toilet block high on the main street which has a heritage classification based on the fact that it was an air raid shelter during the war. It’s hard to imagine an easier target but there you are, it doesn’t have to be logical.Also included in the tour was a visit to the fireclay caverns which were excavated by pick and shovel over 100 years ago. The caverns are home to seven species of bats and early Jurassic dinosaur footprints.We’ve also been to the Byfield National Park for a walk and visited a pottery nearby for some retail therapy.Today was the local free paper delivery and guess what – there was a bike advertised which was an absolute bargain – especially when Ian offered less than the advertised price. So now I can ride around Yeppoon as well as walking. We can take the front wheel off and it fits in the car too!On Saturday we’re planning a Grand Final get together here as we’ve found another Hawthorn supporter hopefully to celebrate a victory otherwise I’ll be keeping a very low profile, maybe a solo bike ride on Sunday!